What are some good books about war?

Question

Preferably fictional, maybe based on real events in war.

Answer 1

Check out the author Jeff Sharhara (sp?) He has written several quasi fictional books about the civil war, revolutionary war, WW1, and the Mexican/American War. His Father also wrote a great book called Killer Angels about the battle of Gettysburg. They are great stories and he really gets into how the main characters thought and such Not a history book but very accurate none the less.

Answer 2

FICTION

Keneally, CONFEDERATES.

Tolstoy, WAR AND PEACE.

Remarque, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Wouk, THE WINDS OF WAR (first volume) and a sequel called something like WAR AND REMEMBERANCE.

The Vienam novel (by Heer?) called DOG SOLDIERS

James Jones, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

Hemingway, FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

Nonfiction:

At the level of soldiers fighting the war and generals making decision, start with John Keegan's THE FACE OF WAR and continue with any of his books.

At the level of grand strategy, read Churchill's 6 olumes of World War II memoirs, beginning with The Gathering Storm. It's literature that will last; the historical account has been superseded, and clearly it's Churchill's war, written to justify his approach. But it is grand and will tell you a lot about the problems and responsibiities of leadership when the stakes are high and the dangers are great.

Edgar Stone, RED STAR OVER CHINA

Orwell, HOMAGE TO CATALONIA

MEMOIRS of General Douglas MacArthur

MEMOIRS of Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery

B. H. Liddell-Hart STRATEGY

Answer 3

W.E.B. Griffin one of the best if not the best writer of all times. His Stories are fiction but he uses a lot of the true events from history and teaches some history while spinning some great stories. Check him out, I haven't been able to put any of his books down.

Answer 4

"The March" by E.L. Doctorow about the Civil War, and it's partly fiction and partly truth. It's super great in my opinion and a fast read besides. It may be a couple of years old.

Anything by either of the Shaara's (father & son) and they wrote about the Civil War as well. "Gods and Generals" and "The Killer Angels" (Killer Angels is excellent)

And just one more "Antietam: Crossroads of Freedom" by James M. McPherson. All of these are well-researched, but are also fictional and I think they were all super great.

Answer 5

Johnny Got His Gun
A Tale of Two Cities
Farewell to Arms
Ghost Soldiers (memoirs)
Baby of Bataan (memoirs)
War and Peace
Lord of the Rings
The Things They Carried

Answer 6

a book called a Time for Heroes WWII (sold on Amazon.com) it has real interviews about soldiers lives in WWII. It's great! (I have it)! It's written by students in Bloomington, Indiana who interviewed each and everyone in the book then wrote about it. I also has Eva kor and the Holocaust survivors, and pictures of the actual concentration camp that class went to visit. It's very well done, and interesting reading!

Answer 7

Ernest Hemingway's "Men At War"-a collection of short stories by T.E Lawrence, William Faulkner,Hemingway himself and also contains factual accounts and recollections from participants in events throughout history.

Answer 8

"Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo and
"The Bridges at Toko-ri" by James A. Michener

Both books take a different view on war, both are fiction, and both are absolutely wonderful in their own way.

Answer 9

One I had to read for school was, The Red Badge of Courage. I didn't like it, but probably just because I don't like war stuff. Another one is "I Had Seen Castles."

Answer 10

"The Red Badge of Courage", "North and South" (there are more to the series), "Zero Dark Thirty" (about the Vietnam War).